Reddit reviews The Fortune Cookie Chronicles: Adventures in the World of Chinese Food

Nothing is certain about the early history about the fortune cookie, but according to this NYT article and this blog entry of Jennifer 8. Lee, who wrote and researched an entire book about Chinese-American food, fortune cookies developed from Japanese tsujiura senbei cookies, which were recorded way back in 1878. Various Japanese immigrant families claim to be the ones who brought them to the US and the cookies probably became associated with the Chinese during World War II due to Japanese interment.

Lots more options and differences between provinces in China.

Fortune cookies, general tso's chicken, orange chicken, crab rangoon, etc do not exist in China.

You will get buns, Peking duck, thick noodles (more carb-y foods) in the North/Beijing area. Soup dumplings (xiao long bao), big gate crab, zai jian mian in Shanghai. Sichuan peppered foods in Sichuan, like small bits of chicken cooked with lots of sichuan peppers, potato noodles with fish cooked in sichuan peppered oil. Dim sum and BBQ pork/goose/chicken in southern China. You'll get hot pot. You'll get dim sum. I haven't even gotten into the depth of it. It's about the variety of food that varies according to the climate of the region, the history, and the produce available.

Here's a book: http://www.amazon.com/Fortune-Cookie-Chronicles-Adventures-Chinese/dp/0446698970

>There are no doubt poor and troubled people in Asia, but they don't have the means of getting to the USA.

Those are exactly the kinds of Asians who move to America, and specifically to New York City. See, for example, the excellent writeup on pipeline human smugglers use to bring Fujianese to New York City in this book: http://www.amazon.com/Fortune-Cookie-Chronicles-Adventures-Chinese/dp/0446698970

TL;DR poor people in China's Fujian province essentially sell themselves into indentured servitude for the privilege of being allowed to work in Chinese restaurants in America. Those who are successful, which is a lot of them, stay in America. They are desperately poor, often have little formal education, don't speak English, and frequently don't understand the culture when they arrive. Yet they thrive and prosper. Why?

There's a pretty great book that explores this and Chinese food in America.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0446698970/ref=redir_mdp_mobile

Jennifer 8. Lee wrote a book about fortune cookies that talks about this, in addition to the history of the fortune cookie, and Chinese food in America: http://www.amazon.com/The-Fortune-Cookie-Chronicles-Adventures/dp/0446698970

> Fortune cookies are an American invention that try to perpetuate the foreign, mysterious, unscrutable asian stereotype.

Really? I think intention is very important here. I don't think there is an ill intent here.

 

If people are interested in the history of fortunte cookie, this funny book by Jennifer 8. Lee The Fortune Cookie Chronicles: Adventures in the World of Chinese Food should fascinate you. (Yes, that's her official middle name with a numeral 8. Talking about badass) Or just simply goole "Is fortune cookie racist" to read the opinions of all other more learned people.